Phase 43

Chapter 8 - Finn

"And that will be $48.94, would you like cash or card?" The waitress at the restaurant in the airport stood on my mom's left side. My mother pulled out her credit card and handed it to the woman, who slid it into the chip and charged us for our food.

We were finishing up dinner at the airport before our flight left at 7 o'clock. Because of Daylight savings, which had passed just two weeks ago, it was already dark outside. I was sat next to Sam, my sleepy head on his shoulder. There was an uneven silence that was clinging to our family. Even Lucas, who was normally a babbling buffoon, was quiet and behaved. Goosebumps had risen on my arms since I had shredded my yellow raincoat. All I was wearing was my yellow Beastie Boys shirt. I had custom ordered it a few years ago and cut the sleeves off. Unfortunately, I had left my sweater in my suitcase, so all I had was my raincoat for warmth, which didn't do me any good.

"Okay you guys, lets get up," My dad said, tucking his phone and wallet into his pockets. I forced myself to sit up and put my jacket back on, luckily dry now. Charlie and Lucas slid off the couch of the booth we had been in, Charlie helping Lucas with his jacket. My parents grabbed the one bag we had carried on, which had food and snacks for everyone.

"Hey, lighten up sista," Sam said, poking me lightly with his elbow. I gave him a forced smile, but there was an ache around my heart that wouldn't go away. "Finn," Sam said. He was giving me a look.

"Yes?" I asked, slightly harsher than I meant to. Sam grabbed my shoulder, and pulled us back to where we were the cabooses of our family's parade down the airport hallways.

"They're gonna try to come out, remember? It's all gonna be fine," Sam tried. I pursed my lips, looking away. My small backpack felt heavy despite the fact that it only had my laptop, my headphones, the charger for it and my phone, and my music bag, which was basically a makeup bag with a tuner, a handful of picks, and 2 capos. My parents had let me take my guitar with me, which was the biggest relief in the world, but I had to check it. The only other thing that was in there was my heavy-duty knee brace, just incase I needed it. The one I was wearing now was just a simple sleeve, meant to be used with the bloody crutch I still had.

"How do we know that Sam?" I asked bitterly. Sam huffed, his —

Crack.

Shatter.

Screams.

Silence.

Sam didn't have time to respond as a sonic blast hit the airport. The ground rumbled for a split second before light was blazing in front of me and I was getting tossed back. I flew backwards into the glass wall of the walkway, my backpack slamming into my shoulder blades painfully. Luckily the glass didn't crack, but I hit the ground hard and felt fire flaring in front of me.

There was a ringing in my ears that blocked out any sound. But I was able to pry open my eyes and take in the destruction. Dust floated through the air in thick clouds, and I found myself choking on it. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

I peeled myself off the floor, groaning when I put weight on my knee. My one crutch was nowhere to be seen. I blinked around, pulling my backpack off in a haze. Sirens blared faintly in the distance, but I couldn't see far enough to identify a source. With shaking fingers, I pried open my backpack and slid the heavy-duty knee brace on, knowing I wouldn't be able to get anywhere without it. I slung my backpack back on, heaving myself up using the ledge of the window I had been tossed into. I finally raised my eyes to the scene, taking in the horrid destruction.

The left wall had been blown apart completely.

My breathing was gone, and no oxygen was coming back anytime soon. Tears pricked at the back of my head as I whipped my head around. Mom...Dad...Sam? Lucas? Charlie?